Fall-ing For You
by thearcadeflorist
Summary: On an autumn trip to visit Janet's family, Jack gets the pair into a little trouble. He's always well-meaning, of course. If you like JackET, cuteness, autumn time, leaf piles, and fluff, then this is the fic for you. (Also I'm so sorry about that horrible "fall" pun in the title ha)


So, as anyone who has been reading my ongoing fanfic "Never Let Me Go" knows, it can sometimes take a little while for me to get new chapters up, so, why not post some of my short, single chapter fanfics in between the publishing of my main one? ^-^ I promise, I'm working on the next chapter of it now, but in the meantime, I hope you enjoy these cute drabbles of mostly JackET fluff that I write in my free time. I got the idea for this one from otpprompts on Tumblr. The prompt was this:

"Imagine your OTP raking leaves, while person A is just finishing up the pile, person B suddenly tackles person A into the leaves and they both fall in the pile."

I thought it was perfectly timed for the season, annnnd I thought it would be adorable for a Jack/Janet fic. :3 I originally post these on my tumblr, but I thought I'd start posting them here as well, because why not? There can never be too much JackET fanfic! So anyway, here goes!

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><p>It was autumn in Indiana once again, and the crimson, orange, yellow and brown were raining down from above once more. It was beautiful out here this fall; chilly, but not too chilly, with beautiful bright colors adorning the trees and lawns of residents as far as the eye could see. Janet loved being back home to see a sight like this once again, considering they didn't really have autumn like this in L.A.. She was also happy she'd invited Jack and that he'd said yes, without even hesitating. Well, that is until he remembered they'd have to fly. It took a ton of reassurance- heck, she had practically had to drag him along with their luggage down the terminal. That and a lot of on flight alcohol. But they were here, and she was glad it was him. She had wanted to share this beauty with someone, and, although she wouldn't admit it, Jack was the first person that had popped into her head; it didn't even matter that he was her only choice, since Cindy was visiting her aunt in the countryside at the time. She was glad he was here with her and her family, experiencing a true Indiana autumn, the kind she had grown up with. And it truly was a sight to behold. Out on her parent's spacious property with many acres, the large, stone accented house made a wonderful backdrop for the colorful scenery of the backyard.<p>

Breaking out of her reverie and straightening up, she wiped a hand across her brow as she admired the work she had done. Not 45 minutes ago, her parents' spacious lawn had been cluttered with so many leaves from the many oak trees that the grass was no longer visible. Now, they were all neatly raked up into one large pile- no, mountain of warm colors. Stepping back, leaning on the rake with one hand and placing the other on her hip, she admired her work with an accomplished grin.

'_Ahh, that should do it.'_

Out on the deck, Jack was leaning against the railing as he watched Janet finish up her work. He smiled a mischievous smile- one he was certainly known for- as a thought crossed his mind. He would surprise her. She had been working for so long out there, she had to be getting bored! Besides, she had done a wonderful job- she deserved a little break.

Leaning the rake up against a nearby tree, Janet was just about to turn around and head inside for some hot chocolate with Jack and the others when she heard a curious racket. The sound of crunching leaves getting closer and closer prompted her to turn around, and when she did she saw none other than Jack, running at top speed towards her with that devilish grin on his face; his blue eyes twinkling playfully. When she noticed he wasn't slowing down as he neared her, she tried calling out to him.

"JA-"

"_Ooomph!" _

She hadn't even had the time to yell out all of his name before he was wrapping his arms around her and tackling her, sending the two of them flying back into the pile of leaves and landing with a hard thud, the soft pillow of leaves below them helping to break their fall a little. The pile was so gargantuan in fact that on impact, leaves from the top of the pile rushed down like a mudslide, burying them a couple inches underneath. Janet hadn't had much time to react; as almost as soon as they landed, Jack was hovering over her, tickling her in that playful way he often would back at the apartment when they were all alone.

"Jack! Jack, what are you doing?!" She managed to cry out in between giggles. "Jack, stop it! Jack!"

But her resistance was futile, as he clearly wasn't going to give up that easy. Seeing as he had her pretty well pinned to the bottom of that thick carpet of leaves below them, and the fact that she was giggling too hard to be able to do much of anything to stop him, she felt it was pointless to fight it. She surrendered to his attack.

"Truce! Truce!" She barely managed to yell through her laughter. The tickling finally stopped, Janet trying hard to catch her breath.

"I'm glad you've seen it our way, madam. I'll call the cease fire." Jack called out as though he were a soldier on a battlefield, making peace with the enemy. "She's surrendered, boys! We've done it, by God! It's a victory! Call the Sergeant!" He yelled, looking back over his shoulder and cupping his mouth. He made a trumpet sound and turned his head back to Janet, who was giggling and shaking her head at him. She pulled a leaf from her bangs and teasingly tossed it in his direction. The two of them exchanged smiles.

"Oh, Jack Tripper, what in the world am I ever gonna do with you?" She sighed.

"Just came out to see how you were doing." He replied innocently. "My, that's a lovely leaf pile you've got there." He remarked in an almost childlike way, looking up and all around them.

"Well, it _was_, until you came along, that is." She looked up at him with a harsh glare, trying to be firm with him, but she just couldn't hold back the grin on her face. Why did he always seem to have that effect on her? Darn him, she thought.

Janet took a moment to reflect the situation, suddenly realizing that she was still pinned beneath him in the pile of leaves. She didn't want to admit it, but, was that her heart skipping a beat? She chose to ignore the somewhat louder than usual thumping in her chest and the strange feeling she felt in her stomach. She shouldn't dwell on it.

Jack looked down at her with a mock sad expression, staring into her eyes with those adorable, expressive eyes of his own that she just couldn't be angry at. Doing his little "puppy dog" face, which he knew none of the girls could resist, he pouted and whimpered with his hands held in front of him like paws. _'Oh, come on. How can I chastise him when he's doing this?' _She thought, sighing inwardly.

"Jack..." Janet started, trying not to sound too soft. She wanted him to know she was annoyed at the fact that he had knocked over almost an hour's worth of work, but she knew deep down that she wasn't really upset with him. In fact, she found the whole situation rather… cute.

"Sorry for knocking down your leaves, Janet." Jack said in a cutesy, childish voice. "I'll help you fix it." He added, still pouting kiddingly. It was at that moment she knew she couldn't keep up the part of her that was still slightly annoyed, and decided to let it go, giggling and shaking her head.

"Oh, Jack. What am I gonna do with you?"

Jack grinned playfully and, before Janet knew what was happening, leaned down so that their faces were almost touching. In that moment, she swore her heart had leapt completely out of her chest and run out of the yard. Still keeping up the puppy dog act, he began to lick her neck and chin, causing her to giggle and squeal in delight. Not to mention the weird sense of breathlessness she had at the moment; what was that all about?

"Jack! Jack stop it!" She was once again yelling out cries of protest as she giggled helplessly, with Jack only increasing in puppy dog kisses. "Jack!"

Then suddenly, he was teasingly kissing her wildly all about her face and neck. _'What in the world is he doing?' _Her mind screamed, trying to make sense of how she was feeling. She didn't know why she felt those strange butterflies in her chest, but she was thankful she managed to hide it on the outside, minus some blushing. "Jack, come on!" She continued to giggle, her squeals of protest once again going unnoticed. Everything abruptly stopped when they heard footsteps behind them and the voice of someone else.

"I see you've been working hard out here."

Surprised, Jack pulled himself up and looked over his shoulder. Janet could see exactly who it was through the space in between Jack's arm and the pile of leaves enveloping them.

"Dad!"

"M-m-m-mi-mi-mister Wood!" Jack stuttered, feeling the stare down coming from Janet's father. He knew it was directed at him. Yet for some reason, he found himself frozen there. '_Oh, no.'_ He thought worriedly as he gulped back nervousness. He knew how Janet's father felt about him. Sure, he wasn't his favorite person in the world, especially when he was getting too close to his daughter, but how would he react to finding _this_? He didn't want to make Janet's father feel even worse about him, and he most certainly didn't want him to get so angry that the trip was ruined. How would he ever make it up to Janet?

"Dad, it's, uh, not what it looks like." Janet giggled meekly, smiling over-exaggeratedly at him from underneath Jack.

"Really?" He asked, crossing his arms and looking at the sight before him.

"I was just helping, sir." Jack said sheepishly, managing a forced grin as he bowed his head.

"I see that." Roland Wood replied sternly, giving him a cold look.

"Oh, sorry!" Jack quickly remembered his position, which was certainly not helping their case in the slightest, and awkwardly climbed off of Janet, brushing himself off as he stood up. He reached a hand down to help Janet up. Soon the two were standing there awkwardly brushing themselves off in front of Janet's father's heated stare. "You've got a little something there." Jack said as he plucked a leaf from the back of Janet's shirt and continued to brush her off, only noticing Mr. Wood a few moments later. "Oh, r-right, ha ha ha, silly me." Jack stopped brushing off Janet and put his hands up, scooting several feet away from her and standing with his gaze on the ground.

"Dad. It's not like that." Janet responded, crossing her own arms over her chest. "I was just finishing the leaf pile, and- and then Jack came running out and, well, he just wanted to check on me, and…" Janet let her voice trail off, realizing how unconvincing her story sounded. He saw what he saw, and knowing her father, he was likely to stick stubbornly to it. At least she knew where she had gotten her hard-headedness from…

Roland raised a finger to argue, but just as he opened his mouth, Jenny came walking up beside him from inside.

"Hey, mom made hot chocolate for everyone, why don't you all come inside?"

Jack began walking quickly towards the house, seeing his opportunity to escape. "Sounds wonderful, don't mind if I-"

"Not so fast." Mr. Wood said, catching him by the sleeve.

Jenny didn't know what was going on here, but she could definitely sense the tension and decided to be the mediator, like she had usually been for her older sister and her dad when she and Janet were kids. Just like old times, eh?

"Come on, dad." Jenny put her hands on her hips and looked at him seriously. "Give these two a break." She looked over at Jack and then at Janet, giving them a little mischievous smile and a slight wink, before looking back at her father. Jack and Janet exchanged confused looks.

"Darling-"

"Dad." Jenny cut him off, making eye contact with him. Janet didn't know how she did it, but ever since they were kids, Jenny had been able to somehow gain their father's understanding with just a look. Every time she gave him that look of hers, the one that told him she was serious, he always seemed to comply.

Not wanting to give in but knowing that Jenny wouldn't give up, he finally complied. "Oh, all right. Let's go." He sighed, letting go of Jack's sleeve (to which Jack winced and rubbed his arm; that Mr. Wood had an iron grip when he wanted to). He turned around and began walking back to the house. Behind him, Jack and Janet regrouped, Janet letting out a relieved sigh.

"I never know how you do that." Janet looked at Jenny in disbelief, shaking her head.

Jenny giggled. "Call it a gift."

The three of them laughed and started off for the house. Jenny hadn't said it, and she didn't think she would, at least not yet, but she sensed something between Jack and Janet. Ever since she had first met him on her trip out to California (oh, how chaotic that night had been!), she just sensed this unique connection between them. She knew all about how their father felt about Jack, and she had been hoping that he wouldn't do anything rash during Jack and Janet's stay. She guessed that secretly, she was protecting the blossoming feelings she knew must be there from her father's disapproval.

When they were well behind Mr. Wood, Janet spoke up. "Thanks, Jenny."

"No problem." Jenny smiled back at her sister, and continued walking, pretending not to notice the two behind her walking a bit slower. She would let them talk. With her back to them, she smiled.

Inside, the family gathered on the spacious floor of the den, snuggled cozily around the fireplace. Roland, with Jenny and his wife's convincing, pretended not to notice Jack and Janet snuggled up just a little too close sharing the same blanket across the room. As they drank their hot cocoa and talked among themselves, Jack looked over at Janet and remarked, just loud enough for the two of them to hear, "You've got a little something there." He reached up and pulled a leaf out of her hair. The two shared a laugh over their newfound inside joke, making a toast with their cocoa.

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><p>AN: I don't know why, but while I was thinking while writing this and coming up with ways to insert different members of Janet's family in here, I realized I have a headcanon for some reason that Jenny (after her visit to the trio's apartment, and probably other visits she's had with Jack and Janet between that time and the Terri era) kinda senses something there between them, and, even though she won't say it to anyone else, ships them a bit. In essence, she's kinda like us. ;) I like to imagine that their dad's always ranting about how he doesn't favor Jack whenever he comes up in conversation, and she kinda tries to be his "wingman" so to speak, as in she sorta tries to get her father to feel better about him because she doesn't want his stubbornness to prevent Jack and Janet from someday forming the relationship she is quite certain she sees coming. Anyway, that's how I like to see it ^_^ I hope you liked this one, because I really like writing cute little oneshots like this from prompts, and there will definitely be more to come!


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